REMO ZACCAGNA - Herald-Tribune staff
In the current economic context, Gerry Shinn’s Joey’s Only Seafood Restaurant is somewhat of an anomaly.
The restaurant, a Grande Prairie staple since 1993, is busier than ever and Shinn said he would have to hire two more staff.
In the past, when Shinn needed to increase or maintain his staff levels to meet demand, he would look overseas and brought in temporary foreign workers, as there was a dearth of local, qualified individuals.
But with the economic downturn hitting Alberta hard, more people are seeking employment in the service industry and Shinn said he has received many more applications from Grande Prairie residents.
But since it takes up to a year for a temporary foreign worker to get through the red tape, Shinn said he doesn’t plan on trimming his staff of eight foreign workers to make way for locals.
“If we go through the applications that we’re getting, 90 per cent of them are oilpatch workers that, as soon as the oilpatch turns around at all, we’re going to be back short of staff for the length of time it takes to get foreign workers here again,” he said.
When Grande Prairie’s economy exploded in 2005 and 2006, an influx of oilpatch workers meant that service industry businesses struggled to keep up with demand.
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